Breaking the Rules

Written By: Fayha Zia

“Dad! Dad! Dad!" my little brother Dylan bellowed across the crystal-clear beach. The sand here was so soft that I could sink into it like quicksand. A couple of people glanced at him, wondering why he was bothering to yell when the only thing you can hear is the sound of other people’s chatter, the waves crashing, and seagulls cawing in the distance. 

“Hey buddy, quiet down! We don’t want anyone catching us here. You know that, D,” my dad swiftly passed the frisbee to my older sister, small beads of sweat trickling down his forehead as he jogged over to where Dylan and I were hanging out. 

"Daddy, can we please go on a speedboat ride?” Dylan was next to the best sandcastle we’ve ever made together. Maya rolled her eyes because he knew that we had to sneak around here.

“Dylan, you know we’re not actually residents of this five-star hotel! We’re already trespassing on private property. That’s bad," she snapped at him. Dylan’s eyes welled up like a dam on the verge of breaking. I elbowed Maya in the ribs, and she stumbled back while giving me a look that cut more than a knife. Dad wanted to take us on a small vacation, but he couldn’t afford it, so he had this idea. When we left we made our Uncle Richard stay in charge of the house.

“Hey. Don’t pay attention to her. You know, it might just be harder for us to do that type of stuff because, you know. Right, Dad? " I told my brother as I patted his back. Dylan nodded languidly as he listened to my words, but he was still staring desperately at the ride. Meanwhile, Dad was saying nothing and squinting at the shack displaying the water activities. The shack was wooden, roughly made with a blue roof and a handmade sign displaying all the activities for the day. It was charming in a broken, rugged way.

“Hey look! The sign by the shack says we don’t need to show our room keys! It’s just a small fee of 20 bucks. "I mean, like, everybody here is already a resident," my dad exclaimed. When Dylan heard that, he smiled like a flower that just bloomed. He and my dad sprinted over to the activity shack, but Maya’s face contorted in annoyance as we walked over together, footsteps in sync. 

“You scared M?” I teased her. Maya rolled her eyes, once again, not even masking the disgust she had for me. I can’t fathom why she was like this to Dylan and me—she's only three years older than me! Dad motioned for us to hurry up as he already paid and the driver was currently attaching the huge red floaty to his boat. 

"Oh, look at this boat, Kayla! It’s so nice; I think I would kill to have it," Dad whispered to me. I could only nod in agreement, because indeed it was a nice boat. It was white and sleek and looked so new. The name of the boat was ‘The Crusher,' which was displayed on its side. Dylan pulled me on the floaty, him in the middle of Maya and Dad, next to me. 

The driver shouted, “Are you ready??” and we all screamed yes in return. He started the boat and zoomed. It was like when you throw a rock on the water and it skims across and hops, but we were the rocks. We were screaming and holding on to each other, the water splashing all over us and the salty smell coming through our noses. The beautiful landscape of luscious, fresh, grassy hills and beaches were rushing so quickly past our eyes that I almost wanted to scream, "Slow down!” so that I could see this land clearly. This place looks like it came out of a painting. A couple of times the floaty would jump up in the air, and we all got airtime. Actual air time. Dylan was definitely on to something when he wanted to go on this ride, because it’s safe to say that this was one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life. The ride lasted for a few more minutes, and then our driver slowed down as we went back to shore. Of course, Maya was only complaining very loudly to Dad about how she was hungry and if we could please go somewhere to eat. As we slowly got out of the floaty, Dad said, “Yeah, guys, I’m hungry too.” His stomach growled loudly, and we all laughed.

“I’m starving! We have to go eat somewhere fast, otherwise I’ll pass out." Dylan’s face was flushed, happiness all over his face.

"Hey, if you guys are that hungry, there’s a restaurant inside the hotel that you can eat at. It’s very fast.” The driver’s expression was hard to read under his black sunglasses. 

Dad stuttered, “Yeah, yeah, we, uh, obviously knew that.” The driver took off his sunglasses and gave us a look. 'You guys definitely didn’t know that.' 

“Everyone who stays here knows that. It’s one of the main attractions here.” 

Well, we’re not actually staying here, so we didn’t know that. 

"Yeah, it must have slipped our mind.”

The driver thought for a moment, rubbing his finger in his beard, and said, “Can I see your room key, please?” 

I gave Maya a worried glance, and in return, she gave me a comforting enough smile. Dylan was clutching my hand like it was the only thing keeping him on the Earth. 

Dad always knows what to say. "Well, our key is with our stuff on the other side of this beach, so no, we don’t have the key.”

This will be fine. It will be-

“Can you tell me what room number you guys are? I’ll let you go after."

My dad without missing a beat replied, "721."

“721?”

Dad laughed and said, “Yes, 721."

The driver clutched his walkie-talkie and said, "Hmm, that’s interesting because another couple came for a ride, and they said their room number was 721.”

My dad gritted his teeth. “They were lying.”

“No. You are lying! They had a room key!” 

“Um, um, how...how can that be?” Dad stumbled over his words. The driver put the walkie-talkie to his mouth and yelled, “SECURITY!”

Maya screamed, “RUN RUN RUN! Kayla, Dylan, follow Dad!”

We started running, the driver right on our heels and security in the back catching up. I could feel my heart and feet pounding the sand in my worn crocs. They’re not going to catch us; they won’t. In the background I could hear, “All units on the beach. We have identified four people trespassing. All units. All units.”

Dad shouted, “This way, guys, come on! We just need to run them out!”

We ran out of the beach and out of the hotel. People stopped to stare at us dashing away, but Dad kept hollering to ignore them. We’re in a small market with little vendors selling food and different trinkets. A person carrying a basket of peaches walked right in front of Dylan and me, cutting us off. I grabbed the crate and threw it behind us, the peaches spilling out on the road, blocking the security. 

I cried, “Sorry!” and Dylan gave me a high five. We made a sharp right, knocking over stands and crates, the market people vociferating angrily at us but effectively making it harder for security to chase us. Sweat was dripping down my face from the burning sun. Dylan was struggling to keep up. Up ahead there was a wooden wall with a hole in it and Maya said “Let’s go through!” 

Dad said, “Kids go first. I’ll follow through. Dylan, go!” 

Dylan quickly crawled through the hole, and I followed. Maya went through next, and I seized her hand and pulled her through. Finally it was Dad’s turn, and he was halfway through the hole before I saw a pair of hands around his waist, pulling him back.

We were roaring for the police to give him back. Dad kicked his leg, and the first officer fell to the ground. The second one punched him, and Dad groaned. He punched the officer back, but the third kicked him, and Dad collapsed on the pavement. The officer pulled out a gun and said, “Try to fight back or I’ll shoot.”

“No! Dad!” Maya exclaimed. 

All of a sudden I heard a gunshot. I covered my face, and Dylan started crying. 

Maya said, “No guys, look!”

I was sobbing, “Why would I do that? He’s dead, Maya. Stop being sick.” 

She grabbed my hand and forced me to look, and then I saw. 

Dad, alive. Dylan started laughing and ran over to Dad, and we followed. Dad, who was still on the pavement, lying down, his shirt soaked with sweat and dirt. He was shaking his head in disbelief. Apparently a truck slammed into the officers so the gunshot didn’t actually hit Dad. It blew a hole in the wall. The truck, yellow and blue, was still there. Then the window rolled down and the voice said, "Well, are y’all coming in or what?”

Dad sat up slowly and said, "Richard, is that you?”

Richard laughed, “You guys have to stop getting in trouble.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Uncle Richard! It’s really you.” I ran over and hugged him.

“What are you doing here?” Maya asked.

"Well, when you guys told me you were going on vacation. I just had to follow you. My little brother can’t stay out of trouble.” Dylan laughed, and Uncle Richard gave him a ginormous bear hug. Next Dad came, and they hugged for at least five minutes.

“Richard, I owe you one.”

“Ryan, I've saved you countless times. Without me you’re toast.”

They both laughed. Maya hugged me and said, "Kayla, I’m sorry I’ve been so terrible to you. I’ll change. Promise.” I hugged her harder in return.

Richard boomed, “Who wants a road trip?”

We all shouted in sync, “ME!”